5 Ways to Control Portions While Snacking
You will always eat more food when you try snacking from a bag or a box. Instead, sitting down to your snack, at the table with a plate, and balancing all the food groups will turn snacking from a mindless event, to one that supports your nutrition goals.
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Portion control can be achieved even at snack time. While I’ve written plenty of articles about why snacking ruins your weight loss goals, you can eat between meals (call it a snack if you want) if you do it right! The following tips will allow you that mid-day meal without overeating.
How to Control Portions While Snacking
- Sit at a table. Why would your mid-day meal or snack be any different than an actual meal. The reason snacking ruins so many weight loss goals is the mindless nature usually associated with snacking. Mindless snacking occurs when eating in front of the computer, in the car, during a movie, out of a box, etc. Sitting down with a plate, at the table can turn a mindless snack into a mindful one.
- Eat from all the food groups. Balance is key when snacking. If you can combine a protein with a carb, your snack will be more satisfying and leave you full longer. This snack above combines fruit, veggies, protein, and grains for the ultimate in balanced eating.
- Measure your food. One thing I learned from my 14 day Bright Line Eating phase was that weight loss happened when I measured the food. When we “eyeball” the amount of food we are eating, we always over estimate.
- Stop when you are finished eating. Many times we keep eating as a form of distraction or procrastination. I love putting the whole meal on the plate, and once it’s done, I’m finished! No returning to the kitchen to keep adding more and more servings to what should be plenty of food for a snack.
- Eat nutrient dense foods. It’s no question that if you are snacking on foods void of nutrients, you will never get satisfied. The more nutrients a food has, the more satisfied your body will be with the amount you have.
The snack on the portion control plate above included
- Veggies: 1/2 cup sliced cucumbers
- Protein: 2 tablespoons hummus
- Fruit: 1/2 cup raspberries
- Grains: 1 low calorie pita bread
The total nutrients for that snack was:
- 190 calories, 6 grams protein, 32 grams carbs, 4 grams fat.
Hi! I’m Amy, creator and owner of Heath Beet. I share low calorie recipes and portion control hacks to get you eating healthier, feel lighter, and satisfied with less food, to make weight loss finally possible! (Read all about me and my health journey here!)
